Truth Above All Else (event)

I have a psychological battle every Sunday trying to decide what constitutes ‘work’ and what doesn’t. You see, even though I don’t identify as a Christian these days, I still treat Sunday differently to other days. I make a point of resting, being thankful, having quality prayer time, and doing everything — particularly eating and drinking — in moderation on a Sunday.

My reason for treating Sundays differently to other days is partly a hangover from my Christian days, but also I find it’s a good way of regrouping, taking stock, and thanking God for all the good things in my life. But there are certain activities — like reading and writing blog posts, cleaning my flat, or sorting out admin — that aren’t clearly distinguishable as ‘work’ or ‘not work’. Can any of you identify with this struggle?

Perhaps it’s silly to wrestle with this, but I find that unless I am strict with myself, and commit to taking a rest each week, Sunday just turns into any other day, with all the stress associated with living a busy life in London. By the way, I also try to be mindful that others need a break too, and my way of putting this into practice is not purchasing or ordering things on a Sunday which would cause others to have to work. I feel British society has for many years been slipping into as 24/7 working week, and I feel it’s not sensible, as we all need regular breaks from work in order to be healthy.

The reason for all of this preamble is that writing today’s post is a classic example of an activity that I can’t decide whether is work or play. It doesn’t fit neatly into either category. But I’ll trust in God to allow me a little flexibility on this occasion, and try to ensure that after publishing this post I discipline myself to relax for the rest of the day 😊

I want to update you concerning a project that has been occupying my time since I last posted here on Perfect Chaos. I have already written a couple of posts letting you know about my forthcoming book release. In this post I shared the blurb for my new book, and in this post I shared the title and the process involved in finalising the artwork.

Things have been progressing busily, and I’ve been trying to ‘think outside the box’ when it comes to releasing and promoting the book. Because, let’s face it, pretty much every writer is churning out books these days. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but it means that it’s difficult to get anyone to pay attention to yet another blogger releasing a book. And, in all honesty, I have worked hard on my book, and really want people to pay attention.

I have decided to put on an event which I’m hoping will bring together people with an interest in philosophy and theology. The event will take place here in London, and although I will be launching my new book at the event, it will be more of a networking party for everyone with an interest in these subject areas. I have booked out a hall for the event, and have space for around 10 other authors or creatives to exhibit and sell their work. There will also be live music. I’ve put together a flyer for the event, and here it is:

If this is something that looks interesting to you, I would love for you to get involved, either by registering your interest in exhibiting at the event (just email me!), or simply coming along on the day. It will be completely free to attend, and there will just be a small fee for those who wish to exhibit and sell their work, which will serve as a contribution towards the cost of hiring the hall.

The event is just a couple of days after the London Book Fair, so if you’re planning to be in London for that, why not stick around for a couple of days and come to my event too? I’m happy to advise concerning places to stay, transport, and any other details that might persuade you to attend.

Whether or not you are able to attend, you would be doing me a huge favour if you are willing to share details of this event with anyone you know who might be interested in coming along. You are very welcome to save the above flyer onto your computer and share it with people, or you could reblog this post, or share a link to this post on social media. Anything you can do to spread the word would be appreciated so very much!

For anyone based in the UK, I have had a load of flyers printed, and would be happy to send you a bunch in the post for you to put on noticeboards, leave in your local cafe or library, or share with friends and family. Just drop me an email with your address and let me know how many you would like.

Well, I’d better wrap this post up now, I wouldn’t want this to feel too much like work after all 😉 Thank you for reading, and feel free to share any thoughts or feedback in the comments below. You’re all in my prayers! Steven x

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Published by Steven Colborne

Steven is a philosopher and author living in London, England. He specialises in writing thought-provoking articles about philosophy and theology, covering subjects such as free will, suffering, the nature of God, and the meaning of life.
View all posts by Steven Colborne

Washing a few dishes is ok 🙂 But I usually just save them out of laziness 🙂 Tidying a little is ok…but full on cleaning my whole house…I try to do that on Friday.. I really like to spend the day at church, in nature, and with family and friends. Its nice that you are giving yourself a break.

Love the project and wish I could attend. Concerning work, this is my philosophy: if I’m doing it solely for the intent of income then it’s work, otherwise it’s my life’s work and all days of the week qualify.

Steven, you really do work hard and deserve every success with your projects. The Philosophy and Theology Fair sounds great … I wish I was nearer London so I could attend, but I’m stuck up here in the far North! I’m looking forward to hearing how it goes though. 😀
I know you said you don’t identify as a Christian … but Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath so don’t worry about it too much. He knows your heart. x

Hi Lesley! It will hopefully be a lot of fun but totally understand that distance could be an issue! Needless to say I’ll report back on the blog, hopefully with some photos of the event 🙂 If you know anyone in London who might be interested in coming along, do spread the word… 🙂

Back in the day, you could type in “London” on Mapquest and it would tell you to drive to a particular dock in Boston harbor and then swim like 3300 miles to a particular dock in Southampton. It even showed you the route on the map! Somebody had way too much free time on their hands. But it was funny.

Good luck with your book presentation, I would certainly like to be there of course. And yes, I can identify with your dilemma – to work on Sunday or don’t – well, before, but now I do feel like Sunday is a bit of a different they and I don’s allowe it to be nothing but for a vacation, family, close friends.

Hi Steven,
I think it is really brave of you to put yourself out there and do a book event! I wish I lived in London so I could come along and check it out. I wish you all the best with the book and all your endeavours.
You have also made me feel inspired to be intentional about my own sabbath day and being more strict with not doing ‘work’ (in its many forms!) so that I can feel more rested. – so thank you for writing this post and inspiring me, and no doubt many others also.

I would have really liked to participate in the blog tour, however the university semester in Australia is starting back in the next fortnight, and so I will soon be too busy to be able to. I wish you all the best in it 🙂